In this module you will be engaged in weekly translation of texts belonging to different domains and genres in order to familiarise yourself with the specific requirements of specialised translation. Texts will be taken from language areas such as medical, socio-political and promotional (in LA825, Literary, technical, and academic- scientific texts).
You will learn to analyse the source texts at various levels, identify translation challenges and overcome them by applying different strategies and translation techniques.
In line with current translation practices, you will be trained to translate into both your A and B language. This will ensure that you are equipped to enter the translation market and have an edge over your competitors. You will also be fully prepared to work both at home and in B-language countries.
Aims
The aims of this module are the following:
- To develop your practical ability to translate between English and Arabic and vice versa through a wide variety of tasks.
- To develop your awareness of specialist fields of knowledge (medical, socio-political, promotional) and their characteristic text types. To become aware of the multiple dimensions of meaning of written texts, representing different genres and text types, and to recognise their most salient features for the purpose envisaged both for the original text and for the translation.
- To refine and deepen your understanding of both your own and the target language and culture. Issues of cultural transfer will be addressed as they impinge on the translation process. You will become familiar with a variety of strategies for dealing with mismatches between source and target languages and cultures.
- To enhance your skills as a professional translator in:
* Preparation for translation assignments
* Terminology management
* Quality Assurance
* Development and evaluation of your own performance as a translator and that of your peers.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, you will demonstrate:
1. Improved skills and strategies in English/Arabic and Arabic/English translation.
2. An ability to identify and record the characteristic terminology, structure and stylistic features of texts from different fields of knowledge, recognising a range of specialist texts and devising a suitable strategy for translation.
3. Sensitivity to language structure, language function and the intricacies of intercultural communication, as well as sufficient understanding of core linguistic and cultural concepts.
4. An ability to recognise potential translation problems and adopt creative solutions.
You will also have learned:
* To develop a good method to prepare for translation assignments (e.g. background reading on subject field, use of parallel texts, etc.)
* To use techniques to compile and/or maintain a glossary of terms relevant to each translation task.
* To run quality assurance checks
* To evaluate the effectiveness of techniques used and be able to argue knowledgeably for and against specific translation choices.
